The Student Press Law Center and the Associated Collegiate Press are proud to honor University of Texas-Dallas student journalists Gregorio Olivares Gutierrez and Maria Shaikh, along with the staff of The Retrograde, with the 2025 Reveille Seven Courage in Student Journalism Award.
In a dramatic and courageous stand for press freedom last fall, UTD student journalists went on strike from the official student newspaper, The Mercury, and created The Retrograde, a new student media outlet independent of the university.
Also recognized as finalists for the award are students at Central Washington University for leading an inspiring campaign to oppose substantial financial cuts to their student media outlets.
The honors were announced Oct. 18 at MediaFest 2025 in Washington, D.C. The Manship School of Mass Communication at Louisiana State University sponsors a $2,000 prize for the award, which is given annually to student journalists who have demonstrated exceptional determination and support for student press freedom, despite resistance or difficult circumstances.
“Gregorio and Maria showed remarkable courage and resilience in the face of their administration’s interference with a free student press,” said Gary Green, executive director of the Student Press Law Center. “Their work is proof of student journalists’ tenacity in telling the stories of their campuses and communities — even, and especially, when they face censorship, intimidation or retaliation.”
Winners
Under the pretense of bylaws violations, UTD administrators fired Gutierrez as The Mercury’s editor-in-chief in September 2024. That tipping point sparked the staff’s strike and nationwide outrage, but it followed months of rising tensions between student journalists and university leadership.
After criticizing The Mercury’s coverage of how officials handled pro-Palestine protests on campus, administrators demoted the students’ adviser and set in motion a series of steps that culminated in Gutierrez’s removal.
But these student journalists didn’t cave; they got creative. Gutierrez, Shaikh and their team — with the support of the Student Press Law Center and our partners — started their own independent newspaper and continue to aggressively cover the campus and its administration.
“Refusing to be silenced, to stand up for our rights, was an act of defiance,” Gutierrez said. “This award shows other students that defending yourself isn’t futile or pointless; it emphasizes that fighting for truth is the only acceptable response to intimidation and censorship.”
From left to right: Assistant web editor Muaaz Abed, graphic artist Erin Gutschke, events coordinator Vinh Mac, web editor Rainier Pederson, HR director Alex Lawless, managing editor Maria Shaikh and assistant managing editor Tyler Crivella.
Gutierrez and Shaikh currently serve as editors of The Retrograde, telling stories about UTD, its people and its community — ensuring that student voices are not silenced.
“This award is standing proof that student journalists aren’t just glorified university PR arms or little kids publishing forever-unread slop into the void, but critical storytellers, investigators and truth-spreaders that fill essential niches in even the largest communities,” Shaikh said. “We can do what few others can — speak about our communities and their issues in depth, with knowledge, with personal care — and that’s why we’ll keep fighting for our right to do it.”
Finalists
Another reporting team is also recognized as a finalist for the 2025 Reveille Seven Courage in Student Journalism Award.
Brandon Mattesich, Jackson Roberts, Gunner Stuns, Z Morris and Zoey Ryan at Central Washington University
When student media funding on their campus was suddenly threatened with near-total cuts, students from The Observer and PULSE acted quickly to defend their outlets. They launched a campaign to raise awareness, leveraging their own reporting, social media, press releases and letters of support. They called out a lack of transparency in the funding process, reached out to alumni, and rallied both students and faculty through petitions, public comments and a protest that drew over 300 participants, to advocate for their mantra, “No free speech without free press.”
Photos by Central Student Media Group staff. Bottom right photo by Keaton Weyers of PULSE magazine.
Their activism not only attracted regional and national media attention but also influenced the Board of Trustees to approve the budget for just one year, rather than the originally proposed four. Their efforts prompted a reworking of policies for the committee tasked with administering student fees, including greater student participation in budget oversight. These student leaders ensured that student journalism remained a vital voice on campus despite severe funding cuts like those faced by student media outlets across the country.
About the Award
The Reveille Seven Courage in Student Journalism Award recognizes student journalists who have demonstrated exceptional determination and support for student press freedom, despite resistance or difficult circumstances.
It is presented to a student news organization, student journalist or team of journalists who challenge censorship, onerous school policies, retaliatory funding changes or other obstacles to their ability to freely report on the issues that matter to their school community.
The college courage award comes with a $2,000 prize, sponsored by the Louisiana State University Manship School of Mass Communication in memory of “The Reveille Seven,” a group of LSU student journalists who, in 1934, were expelled for publishing criticism of Louisiana Gov. Huey Long, and later cleared of wrongdoing and vindicated. The award is presented annually by SPLC and the Associated Collegiate Press at the Fall National College Media Convention.
The Student Press Law Center is the nation’s only legal organization devoted exclusively to defending and advancing the free press rights of student journalists. Since 1974, we have helped students and their educators navigate the law, strengthen their reporting and stand up for press freedom. Our legal support, education and advocacy empower student journalists to report freely and courageously. Learn more at splc.org.